The many places of me :)

When thinking of where I feel at home the first thought that comes to mind is Oregon. I remember once showing my cousin and her husband (who were from Montana) Lake Oswego and pointing out how green the trees were and how gorgeous it was. Aaron (the husband) made a comment that it was depressing he couldn’t see the sky as well because all the trees were in the way. He was missing the open sky of Montana. When I had visited Montana previously, I thought it was beautiful but I was missing all the green of Oregon. It is interesting to see where people feel most comfortable and what they’re used to. I look at big trees as a connection to my childhood. I think of climbing them, reading a book below them, and even hiding behind them for a rousing game of hind and go seek. I know this is pretty broad place to feel I belong but I love Oregon and I admire all the places in it… but I know you’re dying to know some specifics so here are a few:

I love my grandparents cabin in bend where I would snow mobile in the winter and go swimming and jet skiing in the summer. It was the place where my family and I would get out a big project (when I was little it was coloring pictures out of coloring books and trying to cover the whole fridge before the visit was over and when I was older it was making necklaces with my mom out of the beads we bought in Sunriver). It was the best vacation place ever because it was all about bonding with those around you.

Another place I love is the walk to Autzen stadium in Eugene. It is such a gorgeous pathway and really made me appreciate my surroundings. My boyfriend and I used to take walks down that path and would talk about life.

Finally, I love my parent’s neighborhood because it brings back all the memories of my childhood. We would play kickball in the cul-de-sac, ball tag when it would get dark (I thank my neighbors now for being so understanding with kids running and jumping fences into their yards), have lemonade stands to be able to raise enough money to walk up to the nearest drug store to get a candy bar, it was the place where I had my first kiss at eight (peck), and where we would have snow ball fights and my brother would protect me from getting hit.

All these experiences have shaped me as a person and where I feel at home goes beyond these places because everywhere I have a memory has a little piece of me there. Thank you for the experience of this class and the opportunity to really learn from one another.